I’ve been saving for quite some time and as a combined gift from many people, I’m using my savings, plus my birthday money, plus my Christmas gift money, to finally purchase a dedicated dust collection system. I’m debating between a few types. I’ll list them in a moment, but I’ll start with my current shop setup…

I work in a 2 car garage. My goal is to finish my current project and get my wife’s car back in there (so I’ll be primarily using my 1/2 with room to spread out on weekends when necessary – but tool use in that section would be minimal). Wall space is VERY limited. That being said, I think I’d like to try and get a 2 hp model so that I can try to put this off in a corner and keep the longest run of ducts to about 20 ft. I’d never use more than one tool at a time. My biggest dust creators are my contractors style table saw and my 12 inch bench top planer. it would also hook up to a miter saw and bandsaw. I’d probably keep using my shop vac for sanding and drill press operations.

JET DC-1200, 2 HP 1-Phase Dust Collector w/ CanisterAnother $100 in rebates but this would be $550. I probably can’t swing this, but are canisters that much better than bags? Most people seem to use bags on this site but maybe that is because of budget constraints too. add shipping ($30?)

I’d really love to hear some opinions. I don’t know anything about dust collectors except what I’ve been able to read and I don’t know anyone else personally that is into woodworking, so I have no first hand experience with dust collectors myself. Please let me know what you think if you’ve already done some research. I’d love to hear it. Thanks!

34 replies so far

HM,I built my own dust collector, Kinda helps to know some sheet metal guys though :) I have a 2 car garage, use only one machine at a time and keep my runs short and few 90’s (biggest robber of pressure drop). I run 4 inch straight out to keep the velocity up. My dust collector works fine and it is only a 1 hp motor with a dayton radial blower. Just my 2 cents, when you are looking at these it comes down to the motor and how well the impeller is made. I would go with the lower priced Grizzly and invest the remaining money in a good cartridge filter from Wynn Enviromental. These folks deal mostly in commercial, but sale to us hobbyist. They know their dust collection and have always been a great help to me. I would listen to what others have to say before choosing. I just signed up a week ago and these folks on here are great.

-- Bret - Ky "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."- Albert Einstein

Grizzly G0548….....2HP with 1 micron canister and 1700 CFM. I just bought one and I LOVE it, I can run TS and jointer at the same time and it will still suck the paint off the walls!! Absolutely wonderful especialy after using a small 1HP craftsman

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

I use to have a Grizzly 1029 ( only runs on 220V ) and had intentions of useing a garbage can seperator with it, but my situation is alot like yours, my shop is a 2 stall garage that we park out vehicles in, and after about 28 years of woodworking you can imagine all the tools I have stuffed in there. So anyway, the Grizzly 1029 worked very well for me over the years, but I only used the garbage can seperator with it once or twice, it took up too much extra space and was one more thing to setup and tear down everyday, so last fall I bought a Penn State Industries Tempest142 cyclone with a bag. I chose the bag unit after reading that some people felt that the cartridge filters plug up too often when doing alot of sanding and the bags are easier to clear. I also use a Contractor’s table saw, and redesigned dust collection for it that works very well. DUST SOLUTION I would like to add that a dust collector shouldn’t be your only defense against dust, an air filtration unit and a good dust mask should also be used.

Hi Guy! Sounds like you had a Merry Christmas!I owned a jet 1 hp 650cfm and sold it because it did not do the job I needed. This is not a 2 hp that I am thinking about buying. It is a delta 1200cfm. 1 1/2 hp.http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/Delta/Product/50-760.asp $399.00It has free shipping. It is more in line with my budget. Does anyone here at LJ’s have one? Hope this input helps. I’m interested in the answers you get. May be purchasing the same unit as you. Go Hokies!!

I have the JET with the cartridge filter and wouldn’t go back to bags for anything . My shop is a lot cleaner and as long as I use the agitator handle once in awhile I’ve had no issues . When it does need to be cleaned , I bring the filter outside and blow compressed air through the pleats from the outside in and also work the agitator handle to make sure it is good to go . I’ve had mine for over 5 years and have added the metal trash can seperator system inline to remove bulk chips and larger items from the airstream . It’s a lot easier to empty the trashcan than it is to remove the lower bag everytime it gets filled up . Make sure that you use a metal can as this machine will suck a plastic one through the hose !! LOL I can also convert this DC to 220v if I wish too. One other thing , The JET has two agitator handles on it which come in great because mine is set into a cubby and there is no room to walk around it to grab the handle as with the competition has only one handle so I would have to leave it out in the open or move it out of the cubby every time I needed to agitate the filter . Another consideration for your health and shop cleanliness . The cartridge removes particles down to 2 microns and the bag only to 30 microns : )

One other thing you might want to consider is a book, “Woodshop Dust Control” by Sandor Nagyszalanczy. It was very useful in my determining the type and size of dust collector I needed. I think I spent almost a year planning and reading everything I could find on the subject. This book has a wealth of info and explains it in a way that you need a phd to understand.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

MedicKen is correct. Some serious study is advisable. While a 2HP dust collector certainly is a great unit, I’m not going to jump on any bandwagon here. For the past 27 years I’ve had to base my shop in two garages. In both cases I’ve been able to only use about 1/2 of the garage. My wife claims the other half.

My present shop area is about 230 sq ft. Although it is nice to have a window, my wall space is very limited. Frustratingly, there is that large “wall”, the garage door, on which nothing can be hung, and in front of which nothing can be permanently placed. Of necessity all my tools are mobile, and each has it’s place out of the way when not being used. My cabinet maker’s bench is situated so that I can get around it on three sides, and a general purpose workbench is against the wall under the window.

Without digressing any further, there is no way that I could accomodate a 2HP dust collector, and permanently mounted 4” or 6” ductwork in my garage. I simply can’t afford to give up the wall space, and the ceiling, with the garage door mechanism, would make an overhead system problematic. Electrically, 2HP would have been impossible in my first garage, and even though I’ve installed a 60 amp breaker box in my new garage, which wasn’t cheap, I would have to run a 240V dedicated line to a 2HP dust collector.

Noise is also a factor that often is overlooked. For family’s sake, it would probably be desirable to put this unit outside in it’s own enclosure, which may get you into some code and zoning considerations. In my case, an outside unit would certainly soon result in my neighbor knocking on my door.

I have a 3/4 HP, single stage, portable dust collector with a 2 1/2” flexable hose that I attach to each machine as I use it. It is quiet and it does the job. I keep the remote control button in my shop apron. It’s footprint is only 21”x26”, and like other tools in my shop, it has a place to be when not in use. A 2 1/2” hose is not nearly as obtrusive on the floor of a small shop as one of 4” or 6”.

It’s my opinion that a 2HP dust collector’s best application is in a larger dedicated workshop where machines can be left in place.

Delta 50-760 1.5 HP Dust Collector 1200 CFM is the one I’ve decided to get after much research from time to time it’s cheaper that $399 on Amazon with free shipping.I also have the “Woodshop Dust Control” by Sandor Nagyszalanczy and it is a very useful book.

hmmm… There seems to be a lot to consider (and I’ve been considering for a while already.) I’m real thankful to anyone who has posted. I’ll keep thinking about it today and will hopefully have a decision within the next couple of days. In the meantime, anyone else that wants to weigh in, it would be welcome. I figure the more opinons the better. Thanks everyone!

do the bags need to be replaced periodically? What about canisters? I know the canisters often have those nifty agitator brushes inside. Does that make the filters last indefinitely (or until the agitator wears through the filter?). I just want to epmhasize, cost is a realy factor for me. I’ve been saving for a year for this and anything over $about 400 is going to be out of the question. That being said, I’d really like to buy one unit and have it capable of handling my needs and a little more to accomodate a growing tool collection. I’ve looked for used models for a while but have had no luck. Thanks again for all the posts.

here is my two cents. I have to say that you don’t necessarily need a 2hp unit for what your wanting to do. A 2hp unit would more for like 60 foot stretches of pipe. For 20 feet of pipe, you could actullly go for a 1hp unit probably and save yourself some money. I have the Delta 50-760 like some had mentioned before. It is the greatest puchase in my shop. It is so efficient and it is not terribly loud. It is very powerfull. I have it hooked up to a jointer, tablesaw, bandsaw, router table, and a floor sweep and it runs just fine. I can open about 3 blast gates and it will still suck up dust pretty good. It is just incredible. You don’t have to worry about replaceing the bags becasue they are good forever. You can also get a mini separator to attach it to so that everytime you use your dust collector the larger chips and dust go into the mini separator and then the small fine stuff goes into the dust collector. Which by the way is a 1 micron bag. This is very important because the small dust (anything under about 5 30 microns) is very dangerous to your lungs. Also, this machine is great because you don’t need a 220 volt outlet, and it can even run on a 15 amp circuit. This is great for older homes that only have 15 amp circuits. Hope this helps. Trust me this is the best dust collector for the money on the market today. It won the editors choice in wood magazine, and I haven’t heard anything about it ever. you won’t be disappointed with this purchase.